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Hey, Everybody! Did you know that I am the first Ethiopian American to have a show at the United Solo Theatre Festival? Hard to believe in 2017 but it’s true. While some folks might think that this is sad or a testament to the lack of diversity on the (U.S.) American stage, (you are not wrong in this), I also think that this a point of CELEBRATION! My one-woman show IN THE GRAY is about my experiences as an Ethiopian-American artist/woman/daughter/mother, exploring what it means to be an outsider from deep within. IN THE GRAY in the United Solo Festival is set for Sunday, September 2017 2 PM in the Studio Theatre-Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, New York, NY. Now you might think oh wow, that’s great! September? I’ve got plenty of time to get my tickets. But NO. […]

IN THE GRAY

Knowing IT 1
Some Post Meditation Inspiration:   Knowing IT   That moment I went before IT and I confessed. Head down, body limp, the words fell out of my mouth as easy as the air leaving my lungs “I am a failure.” And so quietly IT responded “You are not a failure child. You are a Learner. So go learn.” And I sat there gliding through the invisible. Tears running. Knowing the Grace of IT. The bounty of ITS compassion. Feeling the universe of ITS gentle smile through my pores. How long had it been since I had seen ITS face? How long will it be before I am once again under ITS arm flying through space, witnessing all the magic IT spreads? I thanked IT for being Here. For being with me all while I had forgotten IT. Forgotten myself. IT […]

Knowing IT

  After ten years off poetry, I found myself glued to the computer late one night sniffing the shit all over again. Here’s one of my new pieces. Tell me…can you relate? BK Blue Chocolates   The blue chocolate symphony go from Nostrand through Fort Greene down Flatbush Lathering smooth and sweet purple there In his pant she deliriously recalls Beneath tongue and above words The nectar of his locks smoldering through her pores. That sex magic Its hard rhythm give her Ferocious warm marble ooooooooos… He only eats thick woman candy cat His sinewy brown bronze dark cacao arms and legs swirling her essence Splitting the difference between Janna and Erets. His Nigerian nose with his Swazi thrust and Etiopian smile is almost too much… It is quraybat, baklava and medjools coming down Blue chocolate symphony…your love is like […]

BK Blue Chocolates

waiting room
A few weeks ago I was called into audition for a busy casting agency in New York for an episodic tv show.   When I walked into the waiting room, I saw another actress sitting at the table that I knew who had done a reading of my work a few years ago. When I said hello, we smiled, genuinely happy to see each other, we hugged and shared in the normal pleasantries of how’ve you beens and so good to see yous. When I went to sit down at the table, I saw all the joy leave from her face. The Silent Negotiator I wasn’t sure if she didn’t realize I was there for the same audition or if her social mask temporarily left her. Whatever it was, I saw fear, self-doubt and pensiveness creep up on her face in […]

In The Waiting Room

World premiere of Mourning Sun! 2
World premiere of Mourning Sun! Come check out the long awaited opening to my play Mourning Sun this Fall! Theatre 167’s premiere NYC production of this both poignant and inspiring piece directed by Ari Laura Kreith opens November 6, 2015. Stay tuned for details!   Mourning Sun is an “epic cross cultural love story that gives a unique immigrant experience tackling taboo subjects.” With a first act set in Ethiopia and the second in New York, this play follows main characters Biftu and Abdi as they navigate young love with the mental, emotional and spiritual effects of irreversible fistula. Featured in Fresh Ground Pepper’s New York 2014 Playground Festival at South Oxford Space,  Mourning Sun has been presented in Crossroads Theater Company’s CommonGround Festival and Project Y Theatre’s Racey Plays Series. “When my company produced a reading of Antu’s beautiful play, “Mourning Sun,” there was […]

World premiere of Mourning Sun!